WhatsApp beta tester available to anyone: how to get it and why

27/02/2016

WhatsApp has launched an official test program to help users quickly and easily get access to the beta version of the application with its new features. Here are the details.

For more than two years WhatsApp has given users the opportunity to get beta versions of the application on its official website. Beta versions are nothing but previews of the official version which often contain small changes compared to the version downloadable from the Play Store, but that sometimes have impressive new features that are released to those who are willing to “risk” using a work-in-progress app (and therefore with the possibility of some small error).

Thanks to WhatsApp beta versions we discovered in advance many of those things that WhatsApp then introduced in the final updates. From voice calls and new emoticons, to Google Drive backups and so on.

This, however, had its limits.

In fact, to get the beta version, it was necessary to keep checking the official website for news and to download the latest WhatsApp apk file. This also meant you had to be willing install a version from “authenticated sources”, which of course is not 100% safe.

We’ll explain it a little better. It’s true that the apk file was downloaded from the official WhatsApp website and therefore from a trusted source. But it is also true that often, after you downloaded the file and updated the application, something went wrong and stopped working. Those who tried to walk that path can confirm this.

All this is to say that it makes more sense having an official beta program on the Play Store.

In this way, the procedure to get WhatsApp news in advance becomes simpler. You don’t have to download the file whenever there is a new version, but everything is automatic. Moreover, it is no longer necessary to change the phone’s settings to download from “authenticated sources”, which is always concerning.